Karnataka begins trials of plasma therapy for Covid-19 patients
ICMR has given permission for a line of treatment that holds out some hope
Bengaluru: Health authorities have begun clinical trials of convalescent plasma therapy for COVID-19 patients as the pandemic has showed no signs of relenting in Karnataka.
The therapy involves the transfusion of plasma from a Covid-19 patient who has recovered from the disease to a patient who is still suffering from it.
Phase one of the trials began at the BMC Victoria Hospital on Saturday morning. The trials were announced by minister B Sriramulu on his Twitter handle.
The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) on April 21 granted the permission to Dr Vishal Rao of the HCG Bangalore Institute of Oncology to conduct the trials for plasma therapy.
According to a highly placed source in the Karnataka health department, donors for the trials came forward voluntarily to participate in the programme.
If the trials at the Victoria hospital show promise, they will be replicated in other hospitals.
There is no evidence so far that plasma transfusion works as a line of treatment for Covid-19. This form of treatment was used to treat Ebola patients.
Pitching for the trials, Dr Vishal Rao and his team submitted a 239-page dossier to the Union government detailing the rationale for the therapy and asked for ICMR's permission to conduct phase I of the clinical trial.
Phase I will be done on fewer than a hundred patients. The plasma will be collected from patients who are not above 60 years of age.
"This is a historic moment for the state. I have always maintained that plasma treatment is very effective for patients in critical condition," medical education minister Dr Sudhakar was quoted as saying in a release.
The minister urged successfully treated patients to come forward to donate plasma and help in the recovery of patients now in intensive care units.
According to officials, patients who have recovered from COVID-19 have been requested to come forward as donors, as antibodies of cured patients will be used to treat critically ill under this therapy.
According to the last update, five COVID-19 patients are in ICUs in Karnataka.